The Judgment on Shebna

15 Thus says the Lord God of hosts:

“Go, proceed to this steward,
To (A)Shebna, who is over the house, and say:
16 ‘What have you here, and whom have you here,
That you have hewn a sepulcher here,
As he (B)who hews himself a sepulcher on high,
Who carves a tomb for himself in a rock?
17 Indeed, the Lord will throw you away violently,
O mighty man,
(C)And will surely seize you.
18 He will surely turn violently and toss you like a ball
Into a large country;
There you shall die, and there (D)your glorious chariots
Shall be the shame of your master’s house.
19 So I will drive you out of your office,
And from your position [a]he will pull you down.

20 ‘Then it shall be in that day,
That I will call My servant (E)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah;
21 I will clothe him with your robe
And strengthen him with your belt;
I will commit your responsibility into his hand.
He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem
And to the house of Judah.
22 The key of the house of David
I will lay on his (F)shoulder;
So he shall (G)open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.
23 I will fasten him as (H)a peg in a secure place,
And he will become a glorious throne to his father’s house.

24 ‘They will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the posterity, all vessels of small quantity, from the cups to all the pitchers. 25 In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘the peg that is fastened in the secure place will be removed and be cut down and fall, and the burden that was on it will be cut off; for the Lord has spoken.’ ”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:19 LXX omits he will pull you down; Syr., Tg., Vg. I will pull you down

Oracle regarding Shebna

15 The Lord, Yahweh of hosts, says this:

“Go! Go to this steward, to Shebna,
    who is over the house:
16 ‘What business do you have[a] here,
    and who do you have[b] here,
that you have cut a grave cutting here for yourself,
    carving his grave on the height,
    a dwelling place for him in the rock?
17 Look! Yahweh is about to really hurl[c] you, man!
    And he is about to grasp you firmly;
18         he will wind a winding tightly around you like a ball, to a wide land.[d]
There you shall die,
    and there the chariots of your splendor will be,
        disgrace to your master’s house!
19 And I will push you from your office,
    and he will throw you down from your position.

20 And this shall happen:

On that day I will call to my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah,
21     and I will clothe him with your tunic,
and I will bind your sash firmly about him,
    and I will put your authority into his hand,
and he shall be like a father to the inhabitants[e] of Jerusalem
    and to the house of Judah.
22 And I will put the key of the house of David on his shoulder,
    and he shall open and no one will be able to shut;
    and he shall shut and no one will be able to open.
23 And I will drive him in like a peg into a secure place,
    and he will become like a throne of glory to the house of his father.
24 And they will hang all of the heaviness of his father’s house on him,
    the offspring and the offshoot,
all of the small vessels,
    from the bowls to the jars.[f]

25 On that day, declares[g] Yahweh of hosts, the peg that was driven will move away into a secure place, and it will be cut down and fall, and the load that was on her will be cut off. For Yahweh has spoken.’”

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 22:16 Literally “to you”
  2. Isaiah 22:16 Literally “to you”
  3. Isaiah 22:17 Literally “hurl a hurling”
  4. Isaiah 22:18 Literally “land broad of sides”
  5. Isaiah 22:21 Hebrew “inhabitant”
  6. Isaiah 22:24 Literally “vessels of the bowls to all of the vessels of the jars”
  7. Isaiah 22:25 Literally “declaration of”